On March 8, 2013, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) issued an updated Employment Eligibility Verification Form I-9. As you are aware, U.S. law requires that employers verify the identity and employment authorization of all new hires by completing Form I-9 and examining relevant personal documents. The new Form I-9 is only required for individuals hired on or after March 8, 2013. The following is a summary of changes in the new Form I-9.

Effective Date: The prior version of the I-9 may still be used through May 7, 2013, but we recommend that you immediately begin implementing the new I-9, as possible.

Blank Spaces: Make sure to enter “N/A” in all blank spaces.

Two-Sided Printing: Since the new Form I-9 is two-pages long, USCIS recommends that employers utilize two-sided printing to ensure that both pages remain together.

3D Barcode Boxes: On several parts of the Form I-9 are blank boxes for future versions that will include 3D barcodes. Upcoming versions of the I-9 will include more technology, such as drop down fields and will be automatically processed to create a unique barcode for each applicant. Ignore the boxes in this version and do not write in them.

Section 1 New Passport Field: A new passport field appears in Section 1 for individuals marking “alien authorized to work.” Any alien who provides a Form I-94 Admission Number under this section should also now include the indicated passport information.

Section 2 New Name Field: Since the Form I-9 is now two-pages, USCIS has added a field on Page 2 where the employer should enter the employee’s name exactly as it appears in Section 1. This will assist employers in keeping the pages together if they do not use two-sided printing. Always complete this new field, even when using two-sided printing.

More Spaces in Section 2, List A: Additional fields are for secondary and tertiary documents. The most common use will be employees presenting foreign passports and I-94s where the first area would be for the passport and the second for the I-94.

Redesigned Certification Area in Section 2: The redesigned Certification section now separates all of the employer’s attestations and removes the date of employment.

DISCLAIMER: Because of the generality of this update, the information provided herein may not be applicable in all situations and should not be acted upon without specific legal advice based on particular situations.

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